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Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Chicago, Our First Married Trip!

So it's back to the grind for the Hansens. We just got back from what was, a pretty fantastic trip! Last Thursday we left for Chicago to visit my family. The weekend was full of fun with my young siblings, meeting new additions to the family and great evening outings with my dad and step mom, Rebecca! This trip started with a little extra excitement because it was our first trip MARRIED! (with the exception of our honeymoon, of course!) It is so cool to realize the freedom you have as a couple!

Upon arriving Thursday night, we took a cab downtown to meet my dad at an event for a ministry that he supports in Zambia. It was really neat to take part in and meet some new people that my dad works with, but we were exhausted from the flight!

We were awakened Friday morning by my brother, Nathan, and oldest sister, Audrey, standing on the stairs and deciding how they would tickle us. It was so cute to listen to and I am pretty sure they thought that nobody could hear them. I just love the mornings I spend there with the kids. They are so adorable and lively in the morning! We also met my new sister, Madeline for the first time!!! She is the most beautiful thing! She looks like a perfect baby doll!

Once we were all ready, it was off to get the kids hair cut. Talk about an ordeal! Imagine getting four kids ,under 4 years old, ready to go and buckled into the car!! And to top it off it was cold so they all needed coats! Whew! Friday evening, after the kids went to bed, we went to a fabulous Greek restaurant. I forgot how much I love Greek! After we ate, my dad and Chris went to a poker game held by my dad's best friend and Rebecca and I went to Second City, a great comedy show where often, the comedians from SNL come from. It was hilarious! Afterward we sipped hot chocolate at Starbucks and chatted for a few hours. We knew the guys wouldn't be home for a while. We were right about that, they didn't get home from the game until 5:30 AM!! Apparently, the game ended around 2:30, but some of my dad's buddies, who are highly successful men, stuck around and gave Chris a bit of drilling about financial planning and a lot of good advice. To top it off, Chris won second in the poker game! A little extra cash never hurts, right?

Unfortunatly for Chris, I woke him up at 8 am on Saturday so we could get an early start to Wilmington, the town my parents grew up in and where a lot of my family still lives. It is only an hour drive, but we had a lot of people to see! Our first visit was having breakfast with my cousin Brianne, her boyfriend Jerry and their new baby Gavin!! I just love babies! Gavin is such a perfect little baby! Next we went to visit my cousin Josh and his new Great Dane puppy, Ellie. Chris has wanted a Great Dane for years, so when Josh sent us a picture of her, he was a bit jealous! Then we drove to my cousin Brittany's new house and spend a while with her and her husband, Josh. It was so great for us to spend quality time with some of my cousins individually, since most of time we spend together is sparce and in big family gatherings. Throughout the day, we visited with my grandpa and a few of my aunts and uncles. The day was fantastic and suprisingly very relaxing.

Sunday was such a laid back day for us. We hung around the house with the kids and the guys watched football. Who could ask for more? Well, we could. The trip wouldn't have been complete without an outing to a sporting event! The four of us went to the Blackhawks vs. Sharks hockey game! The game was especially good because Chris is a huge Sharks fan. Honestly, I had never been to a hockey game, but I am pretty sure it is my new favorite sport to watch! There was constant action and it didn't hurt that we had really good seats where we could see everything! I will admit that I was a little scared that the Chicago fans may throw beer on us or something because Chris was wearing his Sharks jersey. Thankfully, Chris is not an obnoxious fan, even though the Sharks won 6 to 5!!!

The kids after waking us up on our first morning.

Me and Ava

After hair cuts

Me and Audrey. She is acting shy:)

Gavin!!!

Ellie

Beautiful Madeline!! Seriously, doesn't she look like a doll?

Chris and I with my Dad and Rebecca

So we are back home and wishing the weekend hadn't flown by so fast, but incredibly thankful that we could spend such an fantastic weekend with my family! Can't wait to go back, which hopefully will be sooner rather than later!

On a side note, I am seriously considering doing the Chicago marathon with my dad in October. He has done it for years and I kind of feel challenged to do it too. If my dad can run three marathons and do two triathlons this year, surely I can do one, right?!? I have to decide by December. Yikes!

Also, we had such a pleasant welcome home as my dad (step dad) had cleaned our carpets while we were gone! He is so sweet! We had been complaining about them for a few weeks and he took the liberty of taking care of it while we were gone:) Our family is such an awesome blessing!

Lastly, Thanksgiving is in 10 days!!! Can you believe how quickly the year has gone by? I can't wait since this year our families are coming over to our place! Woo hoo!! And, my mom an I are doing a 10/5 K on Thanksgiving morning!

That's it, I promise! If you took the time to read this entire blog, thanks so much and enjoy the season!